What is the life of a college football player? What goes around in their young minds? How do they cope with the immense pressure that the competition brings along with navigating a whole new world of glamor? These are some of the questions that aren’t usually asked in the current college football world but should be asked day in and day out. After the advent of NIL, where players are earning multi-million dollar deals, the focus is rarely on navigating the player through these new challenges. Young teen minds are rarely equipped to handle all that media and glitter of the footballing world, and in all that, mental health takes a backseat.

Imagine you are a 17-year-old kid coming right out of high school and having to navigate a strange new world, where results on the field do matter. But more than that, it also matters what your NIL ‘stock’ is, your image on social media is, and how much you can make the most of college. For instance,, the Georgia players constantly crashing cars (Marques Easley accident recently for instance) and the Chandler LeCroy accident is just one example of hundreds of others. To be honest, in this scenario, any 17-18-year-old mind would surely falter and face pressure unimagined. What can colleges and coaches do to help in that scenario?

Deion Sanders, the Colorado head coach, is doing what no other coach might be doing now. That is creating not just a team, but carving the players into a ‘band of brothers’ where everyone constantly feels welcome and relevant. “There are some guys in this room right now thinking the same thing to the gentleman though. They are not loved. They are not appreciated, or accepted. They’re not wanted. They’re not relevant.  But you are…We’re funny with that word called ‘love’ because a lot of us have experienced it. We hadn’t received it. I can remember as a child, not ever hearing that. Why? Because my mama’s old school.  She didn’t say that. She showed you that”.

Coach Prime was addressing the issue of mental health and was highlighting how tragedies like Kyren Lacy’s should never be allowed to happen. Sanders, who is known to be vocal and direct, doesn’t mince his words when he speaks. This time, the head coach spoke quite emotionally, appealed to everyone, and encouraged  “loving yourself“. Moreover, the head coach also focused on the aspect of players being a “family” just like his mother taught and encouraged them to act like that. But by the end of his emotional appeal, he gave an assignment for everyone to undertake.

“All right, so before the day ends, I want you to go to one of your teammates, one of your coaches, one of your co-workers, or whatever and say, you know what? I love you. We go with that“. The Buffs’ locker room has recently seen the departure of some of the leaders like Travis Hunter, Shedeur Sanders, and Shilo Sanders. The two above players were so influential that the team decided to retire both Travis’s and Shedeur’s jerseys. However, now the task falls on the incoming group to lead and to provide the necessary support in wading through every challenge that football or life, in general, may face.

Kyren Lacy’s tragedy calls for the mental well-being of players

The tragedy that occurred with Kyren Lacy has stirred up the college football world, with coaches like Deion Sanders and teams prioritizing mental health even more now. The former LSU wide receiver recently died in a suicide after his car was being pursued by Harris County authorities. The 24-year-old wide receiver died from a “self-inflicted gunshot wound,” as reported by authorities, when the officers approached Lacy’s Dodge Challenger after the vehicle crashed abruptly.

Lacy’s attorney, Matthew Ory, gave the statement to ESPN. “It is with profound sorrow that we confirm the tragic passing of Kyren Lacy. First and foremost, we ask that the public and the media give his family the space and time they need to grieve this unimaginable loss in peace“. The passing of Lacy has left many questions hanging about mental health and the adverse effects of the glamor that college football brings to young kids. Moreover, there is a need to address such issues openly and without any hesitation.

Lacy was a fantastic wide receiver, as just last year, the player led the LSU receiving charts in receiving touchdowns and had later declared for the NFL draft. Even in his last season at LSU, Lacy had produced more than 850 receiving yards for 58 receptions at an impressive average of 14.9 yards per reception. The player was slated to be a 2nd and in some drafts a late 1st round pick. However, all that changed after the player had crashed into a 78-year-old man who was allegedly killed by Lacy (per authorities). The wide receiver was put on several criminal charges, including reckless driving and homicide, and was scheduled to face a grand jury.